Which Software Is Good for Snow Plowing Services?

Snow removal and other field-based seasonal businesses are unique in many ways. Therefore, they require unique business software to minimize time waste and increase ROI. At Arborgold, we focus on businesses like yours with an outside-of-the-box CRM and software setup.

Here, we will take a closer look at some of the important features snow plowing companies should look for in your business software.

Mobile App

Let’s face it, the world has gone digital, and that means you need to access your files and CRM from just about every space you enter. Fortunately, most business software now offers mobile apps so you can connect to your clients at staff at the touch of a button from your home computer, office laptop, tablet, and mobile phone. Whether you’re on a family vacation or sitting in the office, mobile apps make your software more accessible. This helps with a variety of features, such as:

• Order management
• Dispatch
• Payments
• Service add-ons

It also lets you stay connected in real-time as your employees go out in the field.

Scheduling

Scheduling is a huge part of managing a snow plowing company, and your business software needs to support this. The best business software lets you see where your employees are in the progression of a current job, who is out sick, who is on call, and even which pieces of equipment are being used.

Knowing which employees are available to you at any given time helps you plan your day, and future jobs. You can monitor upcoming vacations, approve sick days, and schedule various operations from your computer or mobile device.

This is especially useful because you can keep an eye on the weather forecast, and know if you need to call in the cavalry or send folks home early.

Optimizing Routing and Quick Dispatch

The snow removal industry is not a 9-5 job. In fact, much of the time, snow removal takes place overnight to clear roads for the workday. You want to look for business software that will support you in quickly dispatching employees as they are needed and optimizing routes for safe arrival to and from jobs.

Your team is often facing rough conditions when they go out to clear. That means knowing the best routes and keeping constant tabs on your team is essential.

Contact Management

Contacting customers is a must as a snowplow company. Whether you are working to presell seasonal services like plowing and salting or automating renewals for next year, your business software should have the automation, customization, and template abilities you need to email clients year-round.

Email automation is essential to your business because it helps you follow-up with new customers, invite potential customers, send out feelers, provide coupons and exclusive offers, and more.

GPS Crew Tracking

In a field-based business, your team is your bread and butter. Without dedicated and reliable staff, your clients wouldn’t be able to depend on your company for snow removal each year. Modern business software for this industry comes with a plethora of bespoke features, including GPS crew tracking. See where your team is, how long they’ve been at their destination, what traffic conditions are like on nearby intersections, and monitor fuel consumption.

Being able to see your staff in real-time allows you to better manage your schedule, equipment, and even the prices of your services.

Equipment Management

Inventory is no joke in the world of salting and snow removal, which is why your business software needs to have equipment management capability. Knowing where your tools and equipment are, how much you have on store, who is using which piece of equipment, and when it is all due back is crucial to the success of your company.

Not only does this help you restock and maintain the equipment you use each day, but if a team member breaks down, you can easily get them the repairs and replacements they need in time to do their job.

Billing & Invoicing

Nobody likes to get a bill in the mail, but without invoicing, how are you supposed to get paid? When you start weighing the pros and cons of different types of business software for your snow plowing company remember to look at functions for:

• Prepayment
• Contract payment
• Recurring payment
• Partial payment
• On-site invoicing
• Off-site invoicing

Access to these tools will keep your clients in the know when payment is due, and help you manage invoices and payments.

Accounting and Payroll Integration

Along with invoicing comes accounting and payroll. You want to have everything in an organized place together so you can reference those files for paychecks and tax purposes. It’s good to look for business software with temporary, part-time, and full-time employee payroll integration.

Seasonal employment like snow removal has a high turnover rate unless the same employees transfer into your spring and summer landscaping team. Whatever your chosen accounting system is, you want your business software to integrate seamlessly, so you aren’t losing information you may need later.

Contract Management

Finally, where would your snow plowing company be without contract management to maintain renewals, documents, and all other required facets of your business? Business software for field-based businesses is equipped with custom contract management tools tailored to the type of bids and contracts you take on.

Having contracts in one easy-to-access place helps other departments of your company, from sales to accounts receivable and beyond, better function and streamline the sales, payment, and customer retention process.

Try Arborgold Today

Interested in learning more about business software for your snow plowing company? Arborgold can help. Our state-of-the-art software was designed for businesses like yours, including specialty features generic business software overlooks. Field-based businesses like those in snow removal and landscaping have different boxes to check when dealing with staff, inventory, and customers. Arborgold ensures you check every box and then some.

Manage your snow plowing scheduling, workforce, invoicing, and contract billing all in one system with Arborgold. Learn more.